Mesha

King Mesha (Moabite: , vocalized as: ; Hebrew: מֵישַׁע Mēšaʿ) was a king of Moab in the 9th century BC, known most famously for having the Mesha Stele inscribed and erected at Dibon, Jordan. In this inscription he calls himself "Mesha, son of Kemosh-[...], the king of Moab, the Dibonite." The two main records: Mesha Stele and the Bible The two main sources for the existence and history of King Mesha are the Mesha Stele and the Hebrew Bible. Per the Mesha Stele, Mesha's father was also a king of Moab. His name is not totally preserved in the inscription, only the theophoric first element Chemosh(-...) surviving; throughout the years scholars have proposed numerous reconstructions, including Chemosh-gad, Chemosh-melek, and Chemosh-yat(ti), the latter of which has found some acceptance, as a Moabite king named Chemosh-yat is known from the Kerak Inscription. In the Books of Samuel account, Moab is said to have been conquered by David (traditional floruit c. 1000-970 BC) and retained in the territories of his son Solomon (d. c. 931 BC). Later, after the split of Israel into two kingdoms, King Omri of the northern kingdom of Israel, reconquered Moab after it had been lost subsequent to King Solomon's reign.